


The Best Choice Is To Keep Going

by flibble



Series: Shatt Shenanigans [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Explosions, Gen, I will definitely write more angst, Implied Matt Holt/Shiro, Matt Holt-centric, Matt's time in the galrans hands, Minor Matt Holt/Shiro, My first angst, Prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29252523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flibble/pseuds/flibble
Summary: Matt looked around the cell. It was purple. The same colour as his favourite towel, the pansies that his mom grew, the first robot he and Pidge hacked, the last outfit he saw Shiro in--Matt looked down at his hands. He killed Shiro. Shiro didn't come back from the arena, he was the one Shiro saved and went to the arena for. /He killed Shiro./
Series: Shatt Shenanigans [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2133387
Kudos: 3





	The Best Choice Is To Keep Going

**Author's Note:**

> This is more Matt thinking bad thoughts and angst than what the summary says, but eh. This is my first fic that's anywhere near angst but I couldn't help myself and ended it on a good note. The next fic in this series will (hopefully) be posted in the next week or two.

How long had it been since he was captured? Matt glanced at the wall beside him. Every time he and Shiro woke up they added another tally, but Shiro had gone away-- probably  _ dead-- _ and it was just him and his dad, but then his dad left too, and he was left all alone. He had no one familiar to be with, His leg was still healing, and a few of the other prisoners hated him for being able to skip out on the arena. Matt felt upset by the fact that they hated him but told himself that he didn’t have it half as bad as these prisoners. They had dealt with more loss, been there longer, been in more pain, but-- Matt still felt terrible. 

After his injury, he had been tossed around different areas and cells. Somehow they had found out that he was good with technology and forced him to work for hours and hours on end, giving him some… Punishments when he tried to revolt. Eventually, he found something he could do. Since the Galra had given him access to the technology of- the whole ship really, Matt got to work. He had been working on the main computer with the supervision of a Galra soldier who was inexperienced with tech when he was supplied with some tools, he inspected them thoroughly, looking for  _ anything--  _ even the smallest thing-- that could help. In the end, his search wasn’t futile, since he found a small USB. It had probably been misplaced into the cart but Matt wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth. Matt brought up a few other parts and pieces and plugged them into the main computer along with the USB. 

“What are you plugging in?” The deep voice of the Galra soldier asked- well, it sounded more like a command. Matt started humming and plugging in a few more wires, they didn’t help at all, but he made it as complicated as he could so it would be hard to fix if anything happened to it in the future.

“I’m plugging these in to fix the glitch and running some tests to see if this works. I haven’t worked with technology from outer space before. How did you guys get these types of innovative technology? It’s so cool!” Matt decided to talk a little more than he wanted to but he might get some more information so it was fine. The Galra soldier’s skin turned a darker shade of purple and he rubbed his clawed hand against his neck.   
  


“Well, it’s really nothing, hehe,” the Galra soldier snickered.

Matt decided to feed his ego, that way he’d probably be more distracted and there would be less of a chance of getting caught in the act. “No, seriously! I’ve never thought that technology could be this advanced! I’m learning so many things even though no one’s told me anything about this, it’s so easy to work with! I could do this forever!” 

In all honesty, Matt  _ loved  _ the Galra technology and the opportunity to work with it,  _ but  _ he  _ absolutely hated  _ having to benefit the Galra. The Galra soldier had gone on a long rant about the history of the Galra technology, striking poses and acting out significant parts in history. Matt nearly shorted his brain out as he plugged in numerous wires while trying not to mess up and store key parts of the Galra soldiers rant into his brain. He stumbled with the wires a bit when he saw the USB light turn a dim purple and pretended to finish up, shutting the small door containing the wires. He swiped the USB, stuck it into the sleeves of the dark suit he was wearing, and pretended to stretch and pull the sleeves up to his elbows. The scrunched up sleeves prevented the soldier from seeing the small shape of the USB sticking out, Matt thought of himself as pretty damn smart. 

Although, now that he was done his work and memorized a few parts of the rant, Matt felt  _ exhausted.  _ He felt like he had been working for hours-- judging by the several guard shift changes, he had. He was suddenly hyper-aware of the itchy feeling in his throat and his hurting stomach. How long had it been since he ate or drank water? From his kneeled position in front of the computer, he fell forwards; his face squishing onto the floor was  _ not  _ comfortable in the slightest.

Matt heard a small sigh of… Sadness? From the soldier as footsteps vibrated the floor. The last thing he was aware of was the feeling of water rushing into himself from a straw. 

  
  
  


Matt slowly woke up in his cell. There was a half empty pouch of what seemed to be water about a meter away, but Matt couldn’t find it in himself to get up from his spot, crouched against the wall. His brain felt scattered with all of the information he stored into it. His brain  _ hurt.  _ Matt brought his hands up and kneaded his temple with his fingers, staring at the pouch of water and wishing for it to come closer. He looked back up at the purple--  _ god, he absolutely  _ **_hated_ ** _ that colour _ \-- hue of the lights in the cell and shivered. He watched as Galra soldiers marched through the hallways, they made rounds around here every two hours, peering into every prisoner's cell to make sure they weren’t doing anything wrong. (Read: trying to escape.)

Belatedly, Matt realized that his sleeves were still pulled up to his elbows and quickly felt around for the USB of data. His breath hitched at the feeling of nothing.  _ The USB was  _ **_gone._ ** _ Everything that could’ve helped him in the future…  _ **_Just gone._ ** Who was he to think he could go against the Galra? Even when he was being the sneakiest he could be, the guard still noticed the USB and took it with him. 

After a few hours, Matt finally found the strength to get up. His back hurt, bones ached, and throat was dry, so he reached out for the water pouch, sipping it thirstily. He wanted to leave, to get  _ home.  _ Home with Katie, his mom, his dad, home with  _ Shiro,  _ but he  _ couldn’t, and that felt terrible.  _ At times Matt tossed around the idea of just… Giving up his fight against the Galra. 

Sure, people were waiting back on earth for him, but what were the odds that he would be able to escape? There were so many of those soldiers in the ship that his escape attempt would not go unnoticed. Plus, even if he was able to escape, where would he go? He was probably on the other side of the galaxy. The Garrison didn’t have any information documented about purple fuzzy space cats, so he was sure that they didn’t have any information about this part of space. There was absolutely nothing he could do to leave but wait for someone to come for him-- but honestly, who would come for him?

He was sure that in space, he was the smallest piece of a billion piece puzzle. He didn’t matter, he was insignificant. Often, he reminded himself that every piece matters in a puzzle, even the smallest one, but his brain kept rejecting that way of thinking, he tried to ignore it. Matt remembered that there was no one to keep him from losing himself, so he had to keep himself sane instead. Pidge was at Earth-- thank God, he wouldn’t want her to see this-- Dad was at some alien tech camp, Mom was at Earth, and Shiro was dead. 

Matt shivered. He tried not to think about the fact that Shiro was  _ gone  _ but he couldn’t stop himself. Shiro was probably  _ dead.  _ He’d never see him again all because he was scared to fight in the arena but then Shiro fought and he  _ died.  _ Shiro was strong, though. Matt didn’t want to believe that Shiro was dead, so he decided that he would need proof of his body before believing that he was dead. The best choice was to keep going, for everyone who was close to him. 

Matt wrapped his arms around himself, trying to provide the warmth that he got when Shiro hugged him-- when Shiro did  _ anything  _ with him-- but his efforts were unsuccessful. Matt leaned his head against the wall that was scratched up, shivering at the cold material on his back.

He looked up and closed his eyes, trying to remember the good times he had with Shiro. Slowly his breathing evened out as he drifted off to sleep. The dream of a memory he had that night was one of the best he had since he had been captured.

  
  
  
  


_ “Shiro, there’s somethi- oh,” Matt barged into Shiro’s room but shut up after seeing Shiro. The other male was resting in his bed-- thank God, he barely got enough sleep. There was something about the way that he was sleeping though. He was curled up, arms wrapped around a big fluffy pillow. His body language seemed relaxed but his face was contorted in fear, or pain, or heartbreak, or anguish. It was obvious that he was not having a good dream.  _

_ Matt quietly stepped towards Shiro’s bed, sitting in an area that was not occupied by anything. His hand unconsciously reached out towards the mop of black hair that was splayed out on the bed and gently ran his fingers through it. Shiro’s hair was _ soft.  _ Matt almost did a double-take when his hand touched his hair. _

_ Shiro sighed in his sleep and buried his face in the pillow he was clutching. Matt wasn’t sure whether that was a good sign or not but he forced himself to keep on moving his fingers through the silky hair. It stayed like that for a while. Matt ran his fingers through Shiro’s-- who wasn’t having his nightmare anymore-- hair. _

_ Matt felt peaceful, a welcome change from his usually hectic life. When he was with Shiro his life felt more bright, he felt more worthy, happier. Shiro made Matt feel like he was at the top of the world, like he was at the top of the world. And after finding out that he was going to Kerberos with Shiro? _

_ Matt couldn’t even describe how he felt in words. _

  
  
  
  


Caramel-coloured eyes suddenly blinked to consciousness at the sound of an explosion. His mouth dropped slightly as he stumbled up from where he was curled up on the cold floor. He hacked out a cough and went to the edge of the cell, picking up a broken rod he kept for emergencies. 

He snuck up to the bars of the cell and held the rod as if it were a bat, aiming towards the cracks between the bars. Matt prepared himself for the familiar purple skin-- oh, how he wished to never see that colour again-- of the Galra soldiers. 

Footsteps rushed in and the sound of cell bars breaking was heard. Matt lowered his rod. Someone was breaking them all out! Matt dropped his rod as someone with dark blue skin and short light purple hair slashed an opening through the rods with a sword. They held an arm out towards Matt, he grabbed it instantly. They pulled Matt out of the room and started running towards the exit, watching the prisoners around them with a hurt expression.

Another explosion rocked the area. Matt stumbled, being held up only by the arm he was holding onto. A worried expression was shot to him from the owner of the arm and Matt gave a weak smile back. It wasn’t much, but it seemed to satisfy them.

The two stepped into a wrecked and dust-filled hallway. Matt hacked out a cough as the dust invaded his lungs. 

“His kind has puny lungs? Damn it,” the not-human in front of Matt pulled him closer to them and pushed him into a ship that was waiting near an airlock. They pulled themself in and slammed the door of the ship shut. From where Matt was thrown he could see the front of the ship. His eyes widened at the view of space. 

“Hey. I’m Keela, my pronouns are they/them,” Matt’s rescuer said. Keela stared at Matt with slight worry. They walked in front of him and crouched down, waving their hand in front of his face. Matt finally shook out of the view. His eyes were shining with tears and his mouth formed a shaky smile.

“Thanks, Keela. Thank you, thank you, I can finally...”

_ Look for Shiro. Look for dad. Get back to mom and Pidge. Fight against the soldiers that hurt his family, the one he loved.  _

Keela looked a bit shocked but smiled. “I’ve gotta thank  _ you _ , kid. We tried to rescue the prisoners, but you were the only one that wasn’t scared out of your mind, so… I guess I gotta thank you for not making this a total bust.”

“There are people who are rescuing Galra prisoners?” Matt questioned, sitting up straight. “I wanna join.”

“We’re open for anyone to join. I think you’ll do great things and surprise all of us.”

Matt decided on one thing he was going to do without fail. 

Find Shiro and Dad, save the galaxy from the Galra, and go back home to Pidge and Mom. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey hey,, how did you like it? I think it turned out okay, but it's still a mess to read. No beta we die like space pirates. 
> 
> Anyways, Keela's stature is a mix between Rolo-- his arms and legs-- and Keith or Lance-- a normal size kind of torso. They're agender (like me!) and they have darkish blue skin. Their hair is straight, really light purple, near white, and goes up to their shoulders. (They'll be in future installments of this series. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, have a good day!


End file.
